Welcome! I'm Ariel. Along with my husband Clay, our dogs, cats, bees, & some poultry, we live in a tiny house nestled into a high mountain valley in western Wyoming & are working on settling into our own little homestead. Come along as we work to help an abused piece of land become productive once again for us, our animals, & wild things too. We try to share real life here. The good & the bad. The ups & the downs. What works & what doesn't. The parts we love (most of it!), & the things that suck. Not just the romantic idea of "homesteading" or tiny house life, but everyday details. We split wood for heat, get gravity fed water from a spring, use a composting toilet, & attempt to produce as much of our own food as possible. We hope others can learn from our mistakes & to make life just a little easier for anyone else interested in pursuing similar goals. We live in a fairly harsh & cold climate, but enjoy the stunning scenery & wildlife that we are surrounded by. We're glad you're here!
I'm super excited at the whole idea of building a house for yall!!! This is just my wish being fulfilled vicariasly(sp) through you both! I think you two are totally awesome together and I'm gonna watch and enjoy!!! Hey Burley, hope all is well with your help lil baby!!! Burley, is the Clint Eastwood of your homestead!!! (The Regulator)😎 - also, Clay is really giving me warm inside feeling, cause I've never heard him speak so passionately! What a wonderful husband and friend! @18:33 cozy and sexy (if I'm allowd to say that)...I enjoy it as well, when I have a mate😜...Ariel, you are always gonna be my QUEEN - life is difficult at times, and watching your videos makes me feel like it's gonna be alright!!!
Super happy for you guys! It will still be your tiny nest. Can’t wait to follow your progress as I’m sure it will be the kind of house I’d love to live in. 🥰
I'm excited for you to finally be starting on your house dream! I think this was a good video for people interested in building some day - you mentioned a number of the things that I think people forget. I know where I live in Canada we separate our garbage into what is recyclable, or compostable, or just garbage, and people often forget to plan on places to separate their garbage! I always want a window in my bathroom to let out moisture and let in light - and I don't care if my window is in my bathtub/shower - but I notice you folks don't have a window. It's nice not to have to turn on a light every time you go in, though I'm sure you have your reasons for not having one. Hopefully the days will get cooler and spring, when you seriously start the building process, will be kinder!
You’ve come a long way…happy for you both. Clay, I have a small house, I added on a bedroom, now the foundation seems to be a lot lower on the new part. I do have a large tree in my backyard, do you think I will have to cut it down? The tree is probably 100 years old. Is there any way to win both ways…meaning save the foundation and the tree?
Those neighbors who have their dog out all night especially in weather that is too cold too hot, rainy or whatever is not good in addition to the fact their neighbors cannot get peaceful sleep.
This is my second time watching, love the progress you’ve made and your plans. I had an idea to contribute - why not leave the walls to the 2nd bedroom out, keep an open floor plan. If someday you need a real 2nd bedroom you can add the 2 walls at that time. This way more light is added to the main space and it won’t feel so boxy. Just a thought but I really love it the way you have it!
Arial and Clay, thank you for sharing your life adventures with us - you’re both so knowledgeable with your endeavors on your property! I think you both are so ecstatic about your house project, that even though Arial interrupted Clay here and there, Clay didn’t seem to mind and usually picked up where he left off or on to the new topic. It’s nice to see such positive people happily sharing homestead experiences!
Wonderful 😊❤ we think alike about many of your decisions with the layout such as mudroom, morning sun which I like my bedroom to have as well as my kitchen. A suggestion you can make a pulley system and box to bring up and down jars, taters ect.from downstairs, just load it up
August un the puget sound is supposed to be our summer...it's rainy and cool.....our short hot spell in July must have been our summer. Global warming when it's hot....global cooling when it's cold....weather is what it used to be called.
How exciting! We just completed a home and casita in South America. Our views are two massive volcanos, ( I pinch myself often) year around grow season, one level wide open spaces, water storage, generators, living our dream. We did the same , sat on lots all hours of the day and night until we decided. Then we lived in a small house across the pond to keep an eye on the actual build. It’s been an experience but exciting! It will be fun to watch your journey!
So excited for you and happy Clay has all those skills! We just got done the same process, designing and building our off grid small house (but totally normal size for earlier America 😂). This advice and process is perfect!
What a super super interesting video! Looking forward to following along this home building process....especially how Clay digs the cellar portion. I am curious he mentioned the plumbing and water lines will be underground, how will you prevent freezing in Wyoming winters? Also looking forward to your other videos with the harvesting and the animals. Been following you since before you purchased this property. Very happy for both of you!
Very valuable information! I've always been very attentive of how the sun will shine into the house. I love a bright house especially in the morning and afternoon (kitchen, living area, bedroom). I also spent as much time as possible on the property outdoors during the week and weekends listening - I wanted solitude from traffic noise. Exciting news!! Enjoy the process!! 😃❤
Oh my gosh ! I kinda learned this the hard way - my house was at the end of a T intersection, the vertical part of the T ran North/South and I would drive up it onto my driveway and into my garage. Then winter came and I would get a huge drift on my driveway! my neighbours on either side didn’t get anything close as they had houses blocking the north wind and I had the road! I ended up selling the house after a couple of years. It’s lovely to have a south facing backyard but it’s also nice to have your house blocked from the north wind in winter ❄️
I lived most of my life on the Canadian prairies so basements are standard - if you want to anchor your house to the earth and avoid frost heaves digging the foundation below the frost line is the order of the day. There maybe other ways to accomplish this, I’m just familiar with basements. I didn’t realize until I lived in Portland, Or and then Vancouver,BC that basements are not standard everywhere 🤣 sometimes the water table has other ideas ! And if you don’t have to worry about frost heaves, basements are pretty expensive to build. Totally agree that a standing crawl space will be a joy! And having real stairs down to it a plus! When my mom had a knee replacement she asked us to add another hand railing to her basement stairs, so she could hold on with each hand to do her physio exercises. I didn’t realize how nice it was to hold on with my dominant hand no matter which direction I was going so I made sure I have a hand rail on each side of every staircase in every home I’ve had since - it was great when I broke my ankle - I toss down the crutches and use the hand rails going up and down 😄
